Google Maps Marketing (optimizing, managing, and leveraging your Google Business Profile for optimal search visibility) is an extremely valuable — yet still underutilized — channel for driving real-world customers to brick-and-mortar businesses.

It leverages Google’s mapping and search platform to boost your visibility for nearby shoppers with high purchase intent. This isn’t just another marketing fad or a “nice-to-have” listing. It’s quickly becoming a make-or-break factor for local business success. In other words, your Google Maps presence can be more important than your actual website–often it’s the first–or only, thing potential customers see before deciding to visit or call you.

Despite this, a surprising number of businesses have yet to fully embrace Google Maps as a marketing channel. They might claim their Google Business Profile and list basic information, but they fall short of truly optimizing it or managing it like a marketing asset.

Why is this powerful channel still overlooked by so many, and what makes it so uniquely effective? Most importantly, why is now the time to invest in Google Maps Marketing before your competitors do?

Early Adoption: Gaining a Long-Term Advantage

As of today, Maps Marketing remains relatively wide-open for businesses that maximize the opportunity, with fewer competitors cluttering this space. But that won’t last forever.

The window for easy wins is gradually closing as more businesses realize what they’re missing. That’s why adopting a Maps-focused strategy sooner rather than later can give you a significant long-term advantage.

“Wait, how can it be undervalued if it’s free for businesses to list themselves?”

That is precisely the point. Because Google Maps Marketing is free in many ways—no direct listing cost—business owners often assume it can be safely ignored, or, is a “set it and forget it” channel.

After all, there are no monthly invoices to remind them that they’re missing out. Marketing channels that ask you for $200 or $2,000 a month often come with a sense of urgency: “We’re paying for it, so we must do it well.” With Maps Marketing, the barrier to entry is so low that it ironically gets overshadowed or backburnered.

Additionally, many smaller or medium-sized local businesses are unaware of the granular ranking factors that can help them rise to the top of local search results. Sure, they might create a Google Business Profile once and forget about it. Meanwhile, their competitor is busy sharing updates, cultivating reviews, adding fresh photos, responding to customer Q&As, and effectively capturing local foot traffic.

Many still put all their eggs in the SEO or paid ads basket and consider maps listings to be a “nice extra.” In that sense, Maps Marketing remains at the bottom of the top-tier priority list for many businesses. This is especially true if they don’t realize how many consumer decisions, especially last-minute or spontaneous local ones, occur through Google Maps.

But that scenario is quickly changing.

More industry leaders and marketing experts are advocating for the effectiveness of Google Business Profiles in driving revenue, brand awareness, and actual foot traffic. You can’t hide a goldmine forever. The moment the broader business community collectively understands that Maps Marketing is one of the most efficient ways to capture local leads, it will become crowded—fast.

The Race Against Time: Why This Window Is Finite

It would be one thing if the platform were static—an unchanging system where a handful of relevant businesses show up, and that’s that. But we know how search engines operate: They’re dynamic, evolving, and competitive.

Google, Apple, Bing, and other search engines regularly refine their algorithms to display the most relevant businesses in the most user-friendly manner. If you’re not optimized or actively cultivating a positive online presence, your listing stagnates. Then, a brand-new competitor will emerge from nowhere, do everything right, and surpass your listing in no time.

Another reason the time window is finite is the nature of local consumer habits. Post-pandemic, local discovery has skyrocketed. People rely on their map apps to see what’s around them, which new bistro opened up, or how busy a café is at a given time. As that behaviour intensifies, more marketing agencies and savvy business owners will realize they need to do more than “claim their listing.”

Imagine the local search market as a pie. Right now, you can have a big and delicious slice because not everyone is reaching for one. Once the majority catches on, that slice will be carved up into thinner sections. And sure enough, if you’ve established your presence and built your brand on maps early, you’ll still maintain a decent chunk, but it’s going to take more elbow grease to hold that spot.

Be first, or at least be early, and you’ll avoid having to fight for table scraps.

The Competitive Advantage of Early Adoption

Here’s why acting now makes a difference:

• Many Competitors Are Still Behind: As we discussed, a lot of businesses have claimed their Google Business Profile but do very little with it. Others haven’t even claimed theirs (meaning the information on Google is unverified — which is even worse). This means if you take the time to fully optimize your profile, you’ll immediately stand out in your category. For example, if you’re one of the few dentists in town regularly posting updates and responding to reviews, you’re going to look more responsive and professional than others. This early lead can translate to capturing a loyal base of customers before others catch on. Once a customer finds “their place” (the bakery they love, the mechanic they trust) via Google, they might not even bother checking competitors next time – you’ve potentially won them over for the long haul.

• Accumulating Reviews and Ratings: One of the most challenging assets to build quickly is a substantial volume of positive reviews. It takes time, and consistency in service, to earn those. If you start focusing on customer satisfaction and review generation now, in a year you might have hundreds of reviews and a stellar 4.8 average. A competitor who wakes up to Google Maps later will have to play catch-up, potentially from a handful of reviews and a lower score. Reviews are often a make-or-break factor in who gets chosen. A study from BrightLocal famously showed that businesses with higher quantities of positive reviews tend to outrank and outsell those without.

• Local Ranking Benefits: Google’s algorithm for local results rewards factors that grow over time. For instance, the prominence factor includes things like how well-known your business is, which is partly reflected by the number of reviews and your overall presence online. Additionally, if your profile consistently receives good engagement (clicks, calls, direction requests, bookings, reviews, etc.), it signals to Google that you are a relevant result to continue showing. By engaging in Maps Marketing early, you’re essentially training Google that your business is a quality result.

• Adaptability to Future Changes: Google is continuously evolving its platforms. New features are regularly added to or removed from Google Business Profiles. By being active now, you’ll be in a better position to take advantage of these new features as they roll out. If tomorrow Google introduces, say, a “Local Offers” section in Maps where businesses can put special deals, those already managing their profiles can jump on it immediately and gain even more customers. Late adopters may not even be aware of the feature, or they may scramble to figure it out. 

• Increasing Competition Down the Road: It’s only a matter of time before lagging businesses realize they’re missing out. The pandemic, for instance, accelerated businesses’ realization of the importance of online visibility (including local search). Each year, more marketing resources shift towards local search optimization. According to a recent industry report, over 64% of small businesses now have some form of local search presence​– and that number is growing. The more companies invest in Maps Marketing, the tougher it will be to gain an edge. Right now, you may be one of the few in your niche aggressively pursuing it. In a couple of years, it will be standard practice, meaning you’ll have to fight harder to win attention.

• Long-Term Customer Relationships: When you capture a customer via Google Maps today and impress them, you might not just get a one-time sale. You could be earning a repeat customer for years. Early focus on local search marketing can compound your customer base. Think of a new mover to town who searches “best hair salon near me” and finds your salon because you’ve optimized your profile. If you win her business and she becomes a loyal client, the lifetime value of that one Maps search could be thousands of dollars over the years of visits — and she may bring friends or leave more reviews as well. Multiply that by dozens or hundreds of customers, and it’s clear that being the first good option people encounter can pay dividends long into the future.

Adopting Maps Marketing early is about securing prime real estate in the digital landscape before it gets crowded. Much like the early days of any platform (think early Facebook business pages or early adopters of search engine SEO), those who move first often enjoy a period of less competition and more free exposure.

To maintain that advantage–you’ll need to keep actively managing and optimizing your Google Business Profile so it stays top-notch.

Why You Must Act Now

Consumer behaviour is increasingly favouring local and mobile search.

With each passing year, people increasingly rely on smartphones, voice assistants, and map services to find what they need on the go. We’re moving toward a world where almost everyone will expect to instantly find local business info via these means (we’re almost there already).

By building your Google Maps presence now, you’re future-proofing your business. It’s not a stretch to say that in a few years, businesses without a robust Maps presence will be at a serious disadvantage, much like businesses without a website were a decade ago. Early adopters will have locked in many loyal customer relationships and gained reputational advantages by then.

As soon as enough people realize the profitability of Maps Marketing, optimization will become a standard practice. We’ve seen this happen with other forms of digital marketing, such as paid search ads, social media ads, and influencer partnerships, where costs and competition skyrocketed dramatically once the secret was revealed. Maps Marketing is currently going through that quiet stage right before the rush.

If you wait, you’ll face a crowded field of businesses that have already put time and effort into perfecting their listings. Overcoming that momentum will require a sustained and sometimes costly effort. By acting today, you’ll secure a stable position in local search results. You’ll gather reviews, refine your listing, and build a reputation as a trustworthy, easy-to-find business. When the flood of new businesses arrive, you’ll be firmly established, while newcomers scramble to catch up.

Now is the time

While most businesses are still treating Google Maps as an afterthought, there’s a narrow chance right now to stand out before the platform becomes saturated. The ones who take Maps seriously today will own the visibility, the reviews, and the loyal local traffic that everyone else will be scrambling for tomorrow.

Google Maps Marketing isn’t just another digital trend—it’s the future of local discovery. And for businesses that start early, the long-term payoff is massive.

If you’re ready to lock in your local advantage before your competitors even realize what they’re missing, head to MapLabs.com to learn more about our Google Business Profile Coaching and Full-Service Optimization.

Want to know more? 

🎥 Watch ‘Why Every Business Needs Maps Marketing’ video below!